The fire at the Coupang logistics center in Incheon is expected to be largely brought under control around 11 p.m. on the 19th. If initial suppression is completed as expected, the flames will be contained 40 hours after the fire broke out.
Heo Seok-gyeong, chief of the Incheon West Fire Station, said at a briefing at the Coupang logistics center fire scene in Seoknam-dong, Seohae District, Incheon, on the morning of the day, in response to a question about the timing of suppression, "It is difficult to measure precisely," but "As of 7 a.m. today, we roughly set the time at 16 hours later (11 p.m.)."
Fire authorities are carrying out a specialized suppression operation linking ground and air. Jeon Jae-in, Director of disaster response at the Incheon West Fire Station, said, "We have deployed 28 specialized vehicles around the building to conduct a water spray operation on the upper floors," adding, "From the air, we are using firefighting helicopters to concentrate water on the areas where the fire has spread to the seventh floor."
Starting around 3:14 a.m. the same day, they have been operating a "large-capacity water cannon system," which pours out large volumes of water, to get the main blaze under control. Firefighting water is being supplied from the SK Incheon Petrochem retention pond.
Director Jeon said, "The logistics center is a large warehouse with a three-tier shelf (rack) structure, with large amounts of combustibles stored," adding, "Because of dense smoke at high temperatures, it is extremely difficult to secure visibility inside and for crews to enter."
Gwak Dong-sam, president of the Korea Association of Structural Engineers, said, "There is currently no concern about the building collapsing," adding, "It is important to block the fire from spreading further as quickly as possible."
The logistics center has eight above-ground floors and a total floor area of 299,000 square meters. The fire that started on the sixth floor spread to the seventh floor.